POLITICS NATION
November 1, 2013
Guest: Karen Bass, Jim McDermott, Michael Keegan, Frank Schaeffer, David
Castellani, Terry Castellani, Jennifer Bonjean
REV. AL SHARPTON, POLITICS NATION HOST: Good evening, Ed. And thanks to
you for tuning in.
Tonight`s Lead, Americans feel the X. Republicans turns their backs today
for the first time in history every single American receives footsteps are
seeing their benefits reduced because funding from a 2009 measure is
running out. 47 million Americans who get these benefits of feeling the
pain today is happening all over the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely vital particularly for an area like ours and
the economic situation that there we values in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t look at it as a dollar amount I`m losing.
I`m looking at it as two gallons of milk, couple loaves of bread.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It helps a lot. Like, tremendously. Usually just
about takes us through the month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We definitely need it. We definitely use it all.
You know, we -- you know, we have to eat. We`re not eating better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REVEREND AL SHARPTON, MSNBC ANCHOR: These are people from all walks of
life -- the disabled, the elderly, about 21 million children live in
households that count on food stamps. Nine hundred thousand military
veterans count on food stamps. That`s a group Republicans never tire of
pretending they care about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Can`t we all come together in a bipartisan
matter and say we support our veterans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should be able to take action to support our
veterans.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Protect and honor America`s brave
men and women in uniform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Protect and honor the brave. Republicans can start by not
turning back their backs on veterans. And that`s exactly what they`re
doing. Where are they today? Gone. Instead of trying to fix the problem,
House Republicans who set the legislative calendar are taking a break.
They`ll be off all next week. While 47 million Americans suffer, they`ll
be on vacation. They`ll focus on slashing $40 billion more from food
stamps when back to work. Think about those priorities. They want to take
food away from children and give breaks to Wall Street.
But this isn`t just about food stamps. It`s Paul Ryan back with his old
plan to cut Social Security and Medicare. It`s Republican Senator Tom
Coburn praise the devastated budget cuts that hit head start and other
vital programs. It`s about a philosophy that says if you`re down on your
luck, then you`re out of luck. In the greatest country in the world. And
the richest country in the world for a political party to govern like this
is a shame.
Joining me now is Congresswoman Karen Bass and Washington Post`s E.J.
Dionne.
Good to see you.
E.J. DIONNE, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: Good to be with you,
Reverend.
SHARPTON: Congresswoman, 47 million Americans suffering today, and your
Republican colleagues want to slash 40 billion more. How do you fight
this?
REP. KAREN BASS (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, you know what? I`m happy to say
that there is going to be a committee of both the House and the Senate
that`s going to be meeting while we`re on break. And hopefully they will
come to some resolution.
But you know, it`s worse than just protecting Wall Street. Because you
remember, Rev., that when this was voted on, some of the same Republican
members of the House voted for themselves to have farm subsidies to the
tune of billions of dollars. And I think that it is tragic that the House
wants to cut $40 billion more.
Now, one thing I`m comforted by is I know that will never get through the
Senate. So during this conference committee, I hope they come to a
resolution. In my opinion, they shouldn`t be making cuts to food stamps at
all. But $40 billion is ridiculous.
SHARPTON: Yes.
Well, you know, E.J., Rush Limbaugh the real head of the Republican Party,
he really shows the mentality of so many on the right. Here he is today on
food stamps. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It`s as though these people can`t
even provide an M&M for themselves. The idea that without food stamps,
people are going to starve. People are going to go without 21 meals this
month because they have a $36 cut in their food stamp allotment?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Now, you know E.J., Limbaugh can`t imagine that $36 would cut 21
meals. But here`s the reality. On average SNAP benefits pay for $1.40 per
meal. That`s it. So a $36 reduction would mean losing about 25 meals. Do
the math. So, yes, Rush. $1.40 a meal, try living on that. Why do so
many on the right demonize people who are poor, E.J.?
DIONNE: Did you notice that term "these people." What does he mean by
"these people"? These people include a whole lot of Americans who work
really hard for a living. If you want to cut food stamps, the best way to
do it is raise the minimum wage so people would have more take-home pay in
their pockets. The average household g $281 a year in food stamps. That`s
less than $3400 a year. The average individual gets $133 a month. That`s
less than $1600 a year.
Now, does Rush Limbaugh really think this is enormous amounts of money? He
gets a lot more than at, I bet, if he has a mortgage deduction. I mean,
this is not a very generous program. It`s just helping people get by.
SHARPTON: You know, Congresswoman, the issue is really bigger than just
food stamps. Look at the priorities of the Republicans. They really
haven`t changed. They`re fighting to cut Social Security and Medicaid.
They want more means testing for Medicare. They love to keep the sequester
cuts which hit things like head start and meals on wheels. And on the flip
side, they want lower taxes for the rich, subsidies for all companies, and
they want to gut Wall Street reform. These are some real weird priorities
for people that claim they love America and love the American people.
BASS: Right. And don`t forget to add in that they don`t want people to
have health care. You know, that`s an addition.
SHARPTON: Well, that`s near the top of the list.
BASS: Exactly. I do think it`s really sad. But like you pointed out
before, it really does reflect an underlying philosophy. And that
philosophy is the survival of the fittest. And so, we don`t want to put a
hand out to help folks. If you can`t make it then, you know, you`re out of
luck.
But when we`re talking about food stamps just like you showed at the
beginning of the segment is there`s a lot of veterans on food stamps. So,
are they saying that, you know, they`re just sitting around waiting to have
a government handout?
I think it`s a real double standard. And it`s a very sad way that the
Republican Party has developed. You know, in addition to cutting, they
also want to add on crazy restrictions like you have to have drug testing
and you have to work ignoring the fact that a huge percentage if not the
majority of people who are on food stamp do work. They just don`t make
enough of a living to feed themselves completely.
SHARPTON: No. And it is that attitude, E.J., it is the disdain for people
that is really, really troubling to me. When you -- it is one thing to
deal with policy, but it`s a disdain for low income Americans that come
from all of the pundits and speakers for the right. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Self reliance means if anyone shall
not work, neither shall he eat.
NEWT GINGRICH, CNN HOST, CROSSFIRE: Really poor children in poor
neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who
works. They have no habit of I do this and you give me cash unless it`s
illegal.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Teach a man how to
fish, he can feed himself for a life. Don`t simply feed fish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody out of work is eating. They`ve got big
screen TV, probably have a car, probably have a cell phone.
BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: My contention is that the Obama
administration is encouraging parasites to come out and, you know, take as
much as they can with no remorse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Now, we can debate economic policy. We can debate how you aid
those low income Americans. But the disdain, the almost demonizing and
denigrating of people because of the economic status, that to me is
inexcusable, E.J.
DIONNE: I think so too. I mean, they`re acting as if all these folks have
mansions right next door to Donald Trump on public benefits. They act as
if all these folks don`t want to work. One of the insidious things in the
House bill is that they say they have a work requirement. But that`s not a
real work requirement, because states can cut people even if they`re
unemployed, even if they`re looking for work, even if they can`t find jobs
that they want to take. And the state is under no obligation to help them.
That`s not a work requirement. That`s just punishing people because the
unemployment rate is high. And so, it`s crazy to talk this way about our
fellow citizens and I agree with you. I think it`s wrong.
SHARPTON: Congresswoman, but there is some good news in all of this
because some Republicans might be seeing reality. Some are slamming this
war against the poor. The president of a major conservative think tank
says, quote "one of the things in my view that we get wrong is this war
against the social safety net which is just insane." And earlier this week
GOP Governor Kasich said, quote, "I`m concerned about the fact there seems
to be a war on the poor." So there seems to be a little crack of light in
the middle of this wall that seems inflexible against working class people.
BASS: You know, I do think that that`s a hopeful sign. At the end of the
day, we need the Republicans to take their party back away from the
extremist extremists. And it`s also part of the reality. You know, the
sad thing is that it`s not like there`s not poor people in their districts.
Because each one of the Republicans that vote this way around food stamps
that want to do these devastating cuts, they have tens of thousands of poor
people in their district. Now, it puts the --
SHARPTON: Many of whom work every day. Many are working people.
BASS: Well, and they`re also people we need to go out and register so we
can correct this next November.
Congresswoman Karen Bass, I`m going to have to leave it there. E.J.
Dionne, thank you for your time tonight as well. Both of you have a great
weekend.
DIONNE: You too, Reverend.
BASS: Thanks for having me on.
SHARPTON: Coming up, inside the Republican plan to sabotage health care
for 30 million Americans. And developing news, Ted Cruz responds to his
father`s birther comments about president Obama.
Plus, what is Mitt Romney saying about Chris Christie`s weight?
And this Atlanta city police beating caught on tape. Now one officer is
blowing the whistle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody that would do this shouldn`t have a gun and a
badge. Cowards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: The victim`s parents and their lawyer join me tonight. Stay
with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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showing that despite the Republicans have been saying, the deficit has been
shrinking under President Obama`s leadership.
Barbara says our debt was inherited, not caused by this administration.
Debbie says, he won`t get credit for this either.
And Peggy says the GOP and tea party don`t believe in facts. They continue
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Do you know someone who needs some help with the facts? We`ve got this
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conversation that keeps going long after the show ends.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHARPTON: Senator Rand Paul has a big problem on his hand.
On Monday, Rachel Maddow uncovered the fact that he apparently lifted part
of his speech that he delivered last weekend directly from Wikipedia. On
Tuesday, Buzz Feed found he` done it before. And then Rachel discovered a
third instance.
Rand Paul tried his best to defend these speeches, but it doesn`t end
there. Politico uncovered more instances of borrowed language by Senator
Paul. It turns out Wikipedia isn`t his only ones. In Paul`s response to
the state of the union, his prepared remarks had the exact same language as
a report from the Associated Press. And he makes only minimal changes in
his delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: Under President Obama, the ranks of America`s
poor have swelled to almost one in six people. We are now at an all time
high in long-term unemployment. Millions of Americans are struggling and
out of work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: That looks pretty similar to me. And in a speech Paul gave at
Howard University earlier this year, "Politico` says he borrowed language
from the conservative magazine citizen link to tell a story about D.C.
student named Ronald Holisi (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Ronald Holisi (ph) was failing most of his class. But through
school choice he was able to attend a catholic school here in D.C. There,
he learned that he had a natural gift for composing music. Before that he
wasn`t even reading. His reading level was so low that his stroke would
even write lyrics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Rand Paul has a lot of explaining to do. But when "Politico"
asks for comment, Paul`s aid said quote, "only in Washington is something
this trivial a source for liberal media angst."
Going forward, he will be more cautious in presenting and attributing
sources. He`ll be more cautious. What? What he needs to do is be more
honest. This is serious business. In the past accusations of (INAUDIBLE)
had destroyed political careers and ended presidential campaigns.
Senator Paul, did you think we wouldn`t notice how you tried to cut and
paste the truth? Nice try, but you can`t hit the backspace because we got
you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHARPTON: This week the GOP feigned interest in making the Affordable Care
act work. But let`s be clear. All this glitch hunt hearings on Capitol
Hill were a sham, an act. There has been an Obamacare sabotage campaign
from day one. Politico writes the opposition s strategic from the start.
Derail President Barack Obama`s biggest ambition and derail Obama himself.
That`s what this has always been about, derailing the president himself.
And like everything else with this president, the right wing isn`t
attacking on substance. It`s attacking out of hatred for the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`REILLY: The president believes that his vision for America including
health care for all is more noble than any truthful statement. And so he
justifies his actions en if deceit is involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Deceit? The president was trying to deceive America by fighting
for affordable health care? And here`s Rush Limbaugh today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Richard Nixon resigned over a lie
nowhere near this big. And you know the hell of it is Obama doesn`t think
he lied.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Comparing a health care rollout to Watergate? That`s a joke.
Just like the GOP`s phony interest in affordable health care.
Joining me now is Congressman Jim McDermott, Democrat from Washington.
Thanks for coming on the show tonight.
REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: It is good to see you, Al.
SHARPTON: Congressman, sabotaging, relentless attacks on this president.
I mean, what is going on here?
MCDERMOTT: Al, you know, they started from the day after the election. I
mean, Obama was just elected by a huge majority and they didn`t take it.
They didn`t think it meant anything. They started immediately to do so
nothing and for the last year they have done absolutely nothing to make the
Obamacare work with any help from the Republicans. Anything that happened
came out of the White House or out of the Senate. And the Republicans have
done nothing but drag their feet. There are all sorts of things they could
have done to make it work better. Governors all over the country sat on
their hands. Legislatures didn`t form exchanges everything possible was
done to make it fail. And right up until the very last minute, they shut
the government down to that they could have the final act with coming
online with the program that government wouldn`t be functioning. It was a
massive propaganda stunt.
SHARPTON: Now, today Senator Ted Cruz argued that the affordable care act
hurts the poor. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Under President Obama right now, the top one percent earn a higher
share of U.S. income than at any time s 1928. The people who are being
hurt under the Obama economy are young people, are Hispanics, are African-
Americans, are single moms, are those who are struggling to climb the
economic ladder. Those are the ones losing their health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Now, how is Senator Cruz who`s getting his own health insurance
from Goldman Sachs acting like a populist? I mean, how is this go to wash?
MCDERMOTT: It simply isn`t going to fly. The people will see through it.
He`s saying that there are people who don`t have health care and he starts
crying. If those aren`t crocodile tears, I don`t know what are. This guy
has no feeling for those people or he would have stopped his effort to
destroy it and make it work. I talked to Bill Frist (ph) some months ago.
Bill Frist (ph) was a former leader of the Republicans. He said, Jim, we
should stop trying to repeal it and fix it. Make it work. But Cruz has
none of that in him at all. It`s all crocodile tears.
SHARPTON: And there`s this relentless attack of misinformation about the
law by the right wing media. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s too much health insurance. It covers too much.
Too many people have it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government deciding who will live, who will die.
You`re too old, you`re too young.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that what this plan is about by saving money by
telling who to kill people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To say 129 million people have preexisting conditions
that may put you at risk of losing your insurance is a little bit of hot
air, in my opinion.
LIMBAUGH: It`s not insurance. It`s welfare. Buy your own birth control
pill. Buy your own breast pump. That`s not a health issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: I mean, it`s amazing. And they try to pretend that they want to
make the health care -- Affordable Care Act work. Do they think we forgot
they tried to repeal it 46 times?
MCDERMOTT: Every time we turned around in the Congress in the last year,
they were bringing another forward to repeal Obamacare. They simply do not
care about people. This is really a war on the poor. And this is one of
the things that is the most difficult for the people at the lower end of
the economic schedule to deal with. That is an illness or an injury.
You could be wiped out for the rest of your life. It`s why it`s the number
one cause of bankruptcy. And they do absolutely nothing. They say, well,
we should repeal it. And do what? They have never put anything on the
table to replace it. Not a single proposal in a year while they tried to
repeal it 46 times.
Congressman Jim McDermott, thanks for your time this evening.
MCDERMOTT: We`ll see you.
SHARPTON: Ahead, investigating the alliance between the fundamentalist
Christians and the tea party. And Ted Cruz and his father are right in the
middle of it. That`s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL CRUZ, FATHER OF SEN. TED CRUZ: We have our work cut out for
us. We need to send Barack Obama back to Chicago. I`d like to send him
back to Kenya, back to Indonesia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, MSNBC HOST, "POLITICS NATION": The father of Senator
Ted Cruz Rafael Cruz making a birther comment at a Tea Party rally last
year. We showed you that video last night. Highlighting the extremism on
the far right. Evangelical wing of the GOP is way over there. But if you
try to look at that video today, you got this instead. The video
apparently blocked to keep the public from seeing it. Obviously, someone
didn`t like it that we could show the public about the right wing. But you
can`t hide the ugliness of this stuff. It`s already out there. Here`s a
newly uncovered video that you haven`t seen yet. Showing Rafael Cruz
talking about ObamaCare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: ObamaCare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by
even perhaps denying treatment on people that are in catastrophic
sicknesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: ObamaCare is going to destroy the elderly? This extremism
has been fully embraced by Rafael`s son, Senator Cruz. Next week he`s
heading to South Carolina to speak at a religious right conference. He`ll
share the stage with radical evangelicals who have some stunning claims
about America under President Obama. Just listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON WILDMON, AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION: In this election we tipped
western civilization. It`s going to be different. Absolutely different.
The Christian value system. The Christian view of man will be replaced.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Obama`s been using the bully pulpit to advance
Islam.
DAVID LANE, AMERICAN RENEWAL PROJECT: So here we are, kill 60 million
babies, red ink as far as the eye can see, homosexuals praying at the
inauguration. If we get mercy, I think the process of mercy looks like
probably car bombs in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Des Moines, Iowa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: This stuff is far outside the mainstream. But every
person you just heard is an organizer or featured speaker at the same event
with Ted Cruz. This problem is much bigger than the Cruz family. It
extends deep into the underside of right wing politics. It isn`t about
faith of politics. It`s about paranoia and hate.
Joining me now is Michael Keegan, president for the People for
American Way, his right wing watch blog tracks this extremist rhetoric.
And Frank Schaeffer, a former evangelical turn progressive. He`s author of
the book "And God Said, Billy." Thank you both for joining me.
MICHAEL KEEGAN, PRESIDENT, PEOPLE FOR AMERICAN WAY: Thanks for having
us.
FRANK SCHAEFFER, AUTHOR, "AND GOD SAID, BILLY": Thanks for having us.
SHARPTON: Frank, this is really rough stuff. But not unfamiliar to
you. What is this really about?
SCHAEFFER: Well, listen, you know Rev, we`ve talked about this
before. But you`re one of the only in the mainstream media that gets it.
The fact is America does not have a right wing political problem. America
has a right wing religion problem. And when they talk about losing our
heritage and all the rest of it, this is a kind of religious delusion that
I talk about in my book "And God Said, Billy" which might as well be a
biography of the Cruz family. The fact of the matter is, religious
delusion is driving this debate and we`ve got to stop being so polite. You
know, we believe in religious freedom and tolerance. And so, we kind of
dance around it and we don`t say something very obvious.
And that is that the Obama sabotage campaign has been driven by one
group and one group only in this country. And that is white predominantly
southern evangelicals who have a chip on their shoulder because he`s black,
because he`s liberal, because he`s compassionate and humane. He doesn`t go
along with their war on the poor, their war on women, their war on gay
people. And they have it in for him. But not for political reasons.
SHARPTON: Yes.
SCHAEFFER: They have it in for him because he doesn`t fit in with
their right wing agenda that comes straight out of their interpretation of
the bible. The religious delusion that I talk about in the book. And
that`s it. That`s the story and that`s what the media has not been
reporting.
SHARPTON: Yes. You know, Michael, how do these extremists -- I`m
talking about the evangelicals Frank were referring to. How are they
connected to the politicians?
KEEGAN: Well, it`s interesting just a few years ago a conservative
politician would not have gone anywhere near any of these crazy people.
But now they seek them out. They go to their conferences and you often
find -- and that`s why we track it on right wing watch is that you often
find that what some crazy person says on a radio show just a few hours
later is coming out the mouths of politicians. Ted and Rafael Cruz are a
great example. But they`re just the tip of the iceberg. And they`re all
flocking to these people for their advice and for their counsel and to be
seen with them and be photographed with them. And they totally identify
with them.
SHARPTON: Do they, Frank know that these people are way out there and
if so then what is the appeal? Why would you want to be out with people so
extreme?
SCHAEFFER: Well, look. The problem the Republican Party has is that
a fringe has taken over, the Tea Party. And a fringe has taken over the
Republican Party through the Tea Party. If it wasn`t for all these
gerrymandered states predominantly in the south and some of the mountain
districts, these guys would be a footnote that would not show up. They
would be like the village idiot howling at the moon on the street.
SHARPTON: Right.
SCHAEFFER: The problem is the village idiot has taken over one of
our political parties. And the media, I fault the media and the
evangelical, quote, "respectable leaders" like Billy Graham whose son
Franklin by the way is one of these right wing crazy leaders. And I fault
that people who are supposedly responsible for not speaking out. Where is
the evangelical mainstream leadership saying Ted Cruz and his dad are nuts?
They don`t represent us.
Where are the people against the apocalyptic fantasies that Jesus
will come back any minute so health care reform, politics doesn`t matter on
the one hand. On the other hand they don`t like the black man in the White
House.
SHARPTON: Yes.
SCHAEFFER: They`re going to do everything they can to sabotage them.
So, there`s no logic to what these people are doing. Because I say it
again, it`s about religious delusion and extremism. It is not about
politics and the kind of people I knew back in the `70s and `80s when I was
in the evangelical working in the Republican Party, I`m not anymore thank
God, but when I was people like Jack Kemp and Bob Dole who were friends of
mine would be shocked at these guys and would have nothing to do with them.
In fact, they`d get primaried. They could not run in this party. These
are religious fanatics. These are not politicians.
SHARPTON: Michael, you know, when he talks about evangelicals and
talks about how far out they are, let me play for you an interview from an
evangelical radio show that aired yesterday. Just listen to how the host
and guest talk about President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CONN, THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER: Obama is a leader of a massive
cult himself. He`s the leader of the cult and the cult is Islam.
RICK WILES, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Is Barack Obama leading America to
a cultural suicide?
CONN: Oh, yes.
WILKES: I mean, a cultural Jonestown massacre?
CONN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Now, this Michael was uncovered by your right wing watch.
This is scary stuff that`s being put out over the airwaves. But like Frank
says, no adults in quote, "in the Republican Party or on the right" are
denouncing these kinds of statements.
KEEGAN: Well, to add what Frank was saying, I think their strategy is
unfortunately this is what appeals to voters in the primaries. We`re going
to see next week a good example of that in Virginia. Ken Cuccinelli who is
a real extremist. He`s the attorney general for the Tea Party, got the
nomination for governor and now we`ll see what the voters say. And I think
that you`re going to find that people in Virginia and all across the
country are really sick of it. But it works in the primaries and doesn`t
work in the general elections. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Some of the stuff you`re saying. I feel sorry for people who have to
listen to this on our right wing watch team every single day.
SHARPTON: Yes.
SCHAEFFER: But every day there`s a constant reminder that these
people are extremists. And some of the things you can`t even believe you
couldn`t even make that up. And it would be funny if it wasn`t so scary.
SHARPTON: You know, Frank, he`s right. It is so much out there. I
mean, yesterday a right wing radio host Brian Fisher tweeted this, "We need
a Christian president in 2016 who will invite Christian clergy to exorcise
the White House." And this summer an evangelical radio web host actually
prayed, prayed to get rid of the demon of tyranny in the White House.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We pray against the domestic enemies of the
constitution, against this demon of tyranny who is using the White House
occupant. That demonic spirit is oppressing us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Now, that host is actually running as a Republican in a
seat for the Colorado State house, Frank.
SCHAEFFER: Well, you know, Reverend Al, there`s no way to overstate
this. Once you let the spirit of religious fanaticism loss. This idea of
save their loss. If you disagree with me, you`re evil. It`s no longer
about policy. And religious delusion that I write about in "And God Said,
Billy" is the textbook that describes these people. It`s not politics.
It`s delusion. And what a shame on our country that these racist, this
diluted white reactionary Republicans, these folks are calling themselves
Christians.
And I am one, I am a Christian so I resent people who call themselves
Christian that are diluted religious racists. This folks have an end to
this president for reasons that have nothing to do with politics. And I`m
tired of it. You`re tired of it. Every reasonable American is tired of
it. And I just pray to God that gerrymandering or not, we can toss these
people out and get this country back at least to a sane middle ground.
SHARPTON: Well, we`re going to have to keep exposing it. Power for
stuff. We`re going to stay on top of it. Frank Schaeffer, Michael Keegan,
thank you both for your time tonight.
SCHAEFFER: Thank you.
KEEGAN: Thank you.
SHARPTON: Coming up, Mitt Romney talking about Chris Christie`s
weight? Trust me, you`ll want to hear this.
And a police beating in Atlantic City has one officer revealing what
he calls a culture of thuggism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Shattered eye sockets. It`s wrong, man. It`s
wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: The victim`s parents and lawyer join me ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHARPTON: Now a troubling story of police brutality out of Atlantic
City. This past June, 20-year-old David Connor Castellani was kicked out
of a casino for being underage. What happened next was caught on
surveillance tape. It shows police officers tackling David to the ground
and hitting him with their clubs and knees. Then a K-9 dog unit rolls up.
The police released the dog on Mr. Castellani. You can see the dog biting
his neck and dragging him to the curb. David needed more than 200
stitches. His family says, he sustained permanent injuries. The police
are investigating.
NBC`s Philadelphia affiliate WCAU first broke the story and an
Atlantic City police officer who wished to remain anonymous told
investigative reporter Harry Hairston that the cops are just hiding behind
their badges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Some of them wouldn`t do this if they didn`t have
a gun and a badge. Cowards. I just think about kids. Shattered eye
sockets. Dog bites. It`s wrong, man. It`s wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Joining me now are David`s parents David and Terry
Castellani and David`s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean. Thank you all for being
here. First of all, David, how is your son?
DAVID CASTELLANI, VICTIM`S FATHER: Well Reverend, he`s in school.
He`s back in school however, he`s not doing well at all. In addition to
the physical injuries, he`s suffering every day. Nightmares, anxiety. And
the stress of these false criminal charges that have been filed against
him.
SHARPTON: They filed charges against him?
CASTELLANI: Yes.
SHARPTON: Charging him with what? Getting bitten?
TERRY CASTELLANI, VICTIM`S MOTHER: Well, actually they charged him
with aggravated assault of the police officers and assault of the dog.
Aggravated assault of this dog plus resisting, plus disorderly.
SHARPTON: Wait a minute. They charged him with assaulting the dog?
TERRY CASTELLANI: Correct.
DAVID CASTELLANI Yes.
SHARPTON: The dog that we saw on the tape biting him.
TERRY CASTELLANI: Yes.
DAVID CASTELLANI: Yes.
TERRY CASTELLANI: Almost killed him.
SHARPTON: And he has Terry -- he has to go to court, he has to go to
trial on this?
TERRY CASTELLANI: Yes, he does.
DAVID CASTELLANI: Sure.
DAVID CASTELLANI: We have the prosecutor that lean the county does
the right thing. We`re confident they will, Reverend. The other thing is
that we`re confident hopefully that the prosecutor will seek justice
against these officers and charge them. These are the ones who needs to be
charged criminally.
SHARPTON: Now, Wheaton who is the officer involved. He had
complaints against him between 2008 and 2011. He was the subject of 21
civilian complaints of misconduct. Fifteen of which were related to
excessive force or assault, Jennifer.
JENNIFER BONJEAN, DAVID`S ATTORNEY: That`s right.
SHARPTON: Some of the complaints where man alleges officers brutally
beat and restrained him. Another alleged officers threw him down a flight
of stairs and punished him. And another complained, a man alleged officer
grabbed, punched, and restrained him at a casino. All of which Wheaton,
the officer involved in your son and your client`s case was involved.
BONJEAN: That`s right. And one of the most troubling aspects of
this case is that there is no internal affairs process that actually works
in Atlantic City. It is a sham. There have been numerous internal affairs
complaints, civilian complaints against this one officer over a period of
time. And none of them, not one have been sustained. He`s been exonerated
or not sustained in every one. And it`s just not possible.
SHARPTON: You know, David, Terri, what did you think when you saw
this video?
DAVID CASTELLANI: Completely horrified. Completely shock, never saw
anything like this in our lives let alone with our own son being the victim
of this police brutality.
SHARPTON: I mean, Terry, you brought me still photos here, what did
you think when you saw your son in this condition and saw the video?
TERRY CASTELLANI: It`s an absolute nightmare. It`s unbelievable.
SHARPTON: You`re regular citizens. I mean, respect the police. And
there`s no -- I mean, you don`t look to me to be any wide eyed radicals
looking to start something with police. And the injuries are real clear.
How do people reconcile, people that you pay and you respect to uphold the
law and you end up with a situation like this that you just can`t explain.
DAVID CASTELLANI: Reverend, I don`t know how you can reconcile it.
You know, you look at the police department, police officers to protect and
serve. You don`t look to them to be fearful. You go to Atlantic City.
You don`t want to have to fear the police department, the very people who
are there to protect you. I mean, it`s an outrage.
BONJEAN: And this has been going on in the community for quite some
time. You know, David Connor Castellani has resources. He`s a young white
man. He`s been able to bring a voice to a lot of the community that has
been victimized and terrorized by the Atlantic City Police Department for
years and years. I have been called -- I`ve received so many calls since
this incident happened. People from the African-American community, people
who have been, you know, marginalized and they are just so thankful that
there`s somebody out there that can bring a voice for them. Because no
one`s listening to them.
SHARPTON: An anonymous Atlantic City police officer who came forward
thinks the problem runs very deep. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I honestly feel as though in the Atlantic City
Police Department there is an undercurrent of discrimination, there`s an
undercurrent of thuggism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Undercurrent of discrimination, undercurrent of thuggism.
Unbelievable. And this is a police officer saying this.
BONJEAN: Yes. It`s incredible. And that`s been what my experience
has been. I`ve been receiving phone calls from mothers, from victims. I
have one fellow who I`m going to be representing who had two K-9 dogs
released on him. He said it felt like mobile, Alabama, in the mid-1950s.
That`s exactly what he felt.
SHARPTON: I think the thing that is most upsetting to me, Terry, and
I`ve been involved many years in police cases, is the dogs. I mean -- a
dog on your son.
TERRY CASTELLANI: A helpless person.
DAVID CASTELLANI: Handcuffed.
SHARPTON: Handcuffed, he`s handcuffed while the dog is on him. I
mean, this does smack out of something out of the Deep South. And then
they charged him for assaulting the dog.
TERRY CASTELLANI: Yes. Yes.
DAVID CASTELLANI: -- with the Atlantic City Police Department,
Reverend. I`ve been getting numerous calls, numerous e-mails myself.
Every time an Atlantic City Police officer beats someone up, brutalizes
them, you see the same things. Aggravated assault against the police
officer, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice.
BONJEAN: Disorderly conduct.
DAVID CASTELLANI: It`s their m.o.
SHARPTON: What is it that you would like to see happen as the mother
of this young man?
TERRY CASTELLANI: I just think of all the mothers, that their sons
are out there that didn`t have a videotape, that didn`t have the means to
get somebody to help them. And now they`re charged. They have nothing to
do. They`re charged and their lives are over and destroyed.
SHARPTON: David and Terry Castellani and Jennifer Bonjean, we are
going to be following this case.
DAVID CASTELLANI: Thank you.
TERRY CASTELLANI: I appreciate that.
SHARPTON: And we wish your son a full recovery.
TERRY CASTELLANI: Thank you.
BONJEAN: Thank you.
TERRY CASTELLANI: Thank you very much.
SHARPTON: Thank you for being on tonight. As I said, Atlantic City
police say they`re investigating this incident. We`ll stay on this story.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHARPTON: Almost a year to the day since his shellacking. Willard
Romney is back in the spotlight. According to a new book, his team launch
an undercover operation to vet vice presidential candidates. The code name
for this super secret mission was Project Goldfish. So what was Governor
Christie`s code name? Well, it was Pufferfish. Yes. Pufferfish. As in
this Pufferfish. A fish that blows up like a balloon. Known to be called
the fat fish. But no way Mitt Romney would be so rude as to compare
Governor Christie, a guy who endorsed him, to a fat fish, right?
Well, reportedly Christie`s weight was a real issue. Quote, "Romney
marveled at Christie`s girth, his difficulties in making his way down the
narrow aisles of the campaign bus, watching a video of Christie without his
suit jacket on Romney cackled to his aides, guys, look at that." Wow.
How`s that for a friend? I don`t think Governor Christie would be too
happy to see Willard Romney again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHARPTON: Finally tonight, first dog Bo make news. We`ve seen him
with the first family on Air Force One, spreading the holiday cheer, and
even out shopping. Since 2009, he`s been by President Obama`s side. But
we`ve never seen him the way we saw him today. This morning the White
House Press Secretary was on "Morning Joe," and look what happened in the
back. Take a look to the right of your screen. There was Bo video bombing
Jay Carney. So there he was, morning Bo. And that`s something you can`t
make up. It is something that can make you smile going into the weekend.
Thanks for watching. I`m Al Sharpton. "HARDBALL" starts right now.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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PoliticsNation, Friday, November 1st, 2013
Read the transcript from the Friday show